"I think I lost my voice in all of the screaming and the excitement, so I apologize for that. I also want to echo CJ's [Curtis Jerrells] thoughts about thanking the lord for helping us get to this situation. Being the 65th pick is indicative of the Baylor Bears; we persist and we hang in there. When it looks like we are down and out, we are able to come through. This is very exciting [time] for us and the fans."

On prospects of making the NCAA Tournament after the Colorado loss:

" Well, I think after that Kansas City loss [to Colorado], like every person would do, you want to gather information at that point. I think my wife became a bracketology expert at that point. I learned a lot more about the process because every other time that we have gone [at Valparaiso], we have had an automatic bid.... It is always nerve-racking until you see your name up there."

On Purdue:

"I know a lot about Purdue, so that is a good thing. Coach Painter is up for National Coach of the Year and has done a great job. They have a tremendous freshman class recruiting wise. They play great defense. But at this point, the day is the Bear. Meaning, we are only concerned with Baylor as far as getting in. They could have put us against North Carolina or whoever else; when it came down to that last pick, we just wanted in [the tournament]."

On sleep patterns over the last few days:

"I haven't slept well the last couple of nights. I'll tell you what; it is really tough to cheer for so many teams during one day."

On what making the NCAAs means to Baylor:

"When you put in perspective, it is the 2nd time Baylor has been to the NCAA tournament in 58 years. So it has been a long time coming. Being able to progress this far as we have in such a short time is just a tribute to the players that we brought in, the school administration, and the community that has been able to support us over this time. Becoming a competitive program relatively quick, this is where every team strives to go; the NCAA tourney. The good thing for us, we won't be just happy being in the NCAAs. With the way we played in our last game [Colorado loss], we are hungry to get that taste out of our mouth and play better. We are going there to win, not just happy to be in [the field of 65]."

"How sweet man. I was a little nervous. It was faith. First off, we just want to thank God for giving us the opportunity for being a part of the NCAA Tournament. This is something that we set out to do all season. We felt like we worked hard enough to do it, and it just came down to that last spot. We just had to have faith, so we just want to thank God."

"It is a great accomplishment, but not just for me, but for everyone else up here. To be one of those 65 teams in the tournament is something. But we also know that it is not the end, but it is the start. This is not the end of our season; we want to go further than this."

On the goal of making the NCAA Tournament as a freshman, and having to wait 15 more minutes for the selection:

"Hell. The longer it got, the more stressful it got. I was pretty cool until we got to that last bracket, [and] it was just those last couple of teams. I said to Coach Driscoll after, that `it wouldn't be us if it was easy'. If we showed up in the first four teams, it wouldn't be a good enough story for us. It is just another piece of drama for us to deal with. I am just glad that we were called. We have this chance now, and we just want to make the most of it."

On where Baylor has come since arrival on campus:

"When I first got here, thinking of days like this and thinking about going to the tournament wasn't even in the picture. Now we have this opportunity and this great chance. I think it is just a testament [this program]; the coaching staff, and the people that they brought in. We're fighters and we are going to keep fighting. You count us out, we are going to show up on a board on the NCAA tournament sooner or later, and that is what we did. It is just a credit to those guys, credit to the staff, and everybody that has something to do with [Baylor basketball]."

"It is just like Aaron [Bruce] said, `we are happy to be in', but we obviously want to go into the tournament and make some noise. This was one of our goals, but now that we are finally in, we want to perform and do well; not only for ourselves, but for the community and our families."